The Other Side of the Playground
by madamsnape78
Summary: Spoilers to Deathly Hallows. What happens to Snape after we see him last.


_A/N: Obviously there are spoilers for Deathly Hallows in here, so if you haven't read it, please don't read this. Not only will it ruin parts of the book, but it won't make much sense, either._

_I haven't read any fan fiction since finished Deathly Hallows, so I appologize for any similarities there might be between this fic and anyone else's. I'm sure this scene has already been done before, and will be done many, many times, but I couldn't help myself._

* * *

The bright green eyes that he had been staring into faded as he drew his last breath, and the pain from his wound also faded. He stared into the black void, blinked, and was suddenly surrounded by white mist. He drew in a shuddering breath, as if he hadn't breathed in years and slowly began to stand.

The first thing he noticed was that the intense pain he had felt just moments before was now gone. Gingerly, he felt the side of his neck, expecting to feel the puncture marks Nagini had made, but the flesh was whole and smooth again. Glancing down, he noticed that his black robes were immaculate. He whirled around, trying to figure out where he was. How did he get there? Where was everyone?

"Hello Severus," said a very familiar voice and he whirled around again.

"Albus?" he croaked, shock and emotion choking his voice. "Where… where am I?"

"On your way to another journey," Albus replied calmly. "One, I hope, more pleasurable than your last."

"What do you mean?" Severus demanded, walking toward him. He stopped a few feet away, realizing that this was a flesh and blood man in front of him, not some vision or apparition. He held up his hand, and carefully touched the other man's arm. It felt solid and real. "Are you alive?"

"I'm afraid not," Albus said with a small smile and a realization suddenly hit Severus.

"Am I alive?" he asked, unsure if he wanted to hear the answer. Albus looked at him kindly.

"I'm sorry, Severus, but no."

Severus turned away, trying to get his mind around this new reality and suddenly he remembered the battle he just left. "Potter," he whispered, fear once again flooding his body. He turned around and grasped the older man's shoulders with both hands. "Albus! You _must_ let me go back. I haven't… I haven't told Potter yet. He doesn't know. What if he doesn't look at the memories?"

"Severus, I'm afraid you can't go back," Albus said gently. "Do not worry. You have left Harry all the information he needs and if I know him at all, he will not be able to resist the lure of taking a peek into your memories."

"But… but what if…" Severus sputtered, unable to form his thoughts coherently enough to speak them but Albus held up his hands to cut him off

"You have done well, Severus. Very well, indeed. Do not worry yourself. Your part in all this is over and now it is time for your reward."

"My reward?" Severus snorted disbelievingly. "I'm dead Albus. What kind of reward could I possibly have?"

"Have you not looked around you?" Albus said, amusement and anticipation twinkling in his eyes.

Severus now took a moment to glance at his surroundings. Where previously it had been nothing but white mist, there were now shapes around him. A swing set, a merry-go-round, a slide. He looked up at Albus, his black eyes wide with shock.

"How is this possible?" Severus whispered and walked over to the swing set, reverently touching it. "Is this real?"

"As real as you want it to be," Albus replied. "Now, I think there might be someone who would like to see you. Just on the other side of the playground."

The feelings that coursed through Severus at that moment were nearly enough to undo him. Fear, elation, apprehension, exhilaration. He glanced nervously at Albus who smiled encouragingly and he began to walk to the far side of the playground. As he walked, a figure began to emerge from the mist and he had an irrational desire to stop and run away. He did stop for a moment and the figure began to move toward him.

"Severus," she said kindly, a smile on her face that he had not seen directed toward him since childhood.

"Lily," he whispered, and felt his knees give way under the weight of his emotions. He could feel his cheeks were wet with tears and he tried to brush them away before anyone… before _she_… noticed. He could hear her soft footsteps as she approached him and, although his head was turned down, he could see her kneel down in front of him.

"Oh Severus," she whispered taking his hand, still damp from tears, in her own.

"I'm so sorry, Lily," he said, clutching tightly to her hand and trying to fight the sobs that were rising in his chest. "I'm so sorry for everything."

"I know," she said and he looked up at her, looking her fully in the face for the first time since they had attended Hogwarts together. Her face, both familiar and comforting to him, held none of the anger in it that it had the last time they had spoken.

"How can you forgive me?" he asked, his voice so quiet it was nearly inaudible.

"Severus, I forgave you many years ago," she said quietly. "I know what's in your heart. I know everything."

For a moment Severus felt overwhelmed with feelings of humiliation and he closed his eyes in shame. "Why are you here?" he finally asked.

"Because I care about you," Lily replied. "I _always_ cared about you and loved you, Severus. Perhaps not in the way you desired--" He closed his eyes again feeling the burn of embarrassment—"but that doesn't mean I loved you any less."

"I treated you horribly," he admitted, as if to point out how unworthy he was of her love. "I treated your son horribly as well."

"You saved Harry's life more times than can be counted," she pointed out. "And if you were not always as kind to him as you should have been, well, one could not expect you to welcome James Potter's son with open arms."

At the mention of her husband, Severus shuddered visibly, but she made no comment. They sat there for another moment; hands clasped tightly together, before Severus raised his hand to her cheek and tentatively stroked it with his thumb. She covered his hand with her own and smiled again and suddenly his heart felt lighter than he could recall it had ever been.

"Lily," he whispered again, saying her name just for the joy it brought him to have the word escape his lips.

Unable to control himself any longer he pulled her into his arms and clung to her tightly. In the back of his mind, he knew he was crying once again but he no longer cared. Lily was gently stroking his hair, as he imagined a mother might with her child. After a few minutes, the tears began to subside and he felt his body relax and he slowly pulled away. He glanced at Lily's face and was shocked to discover tears on her cheeks as well. She gave a small embarrassed laugh as she wiped at them and he laughed as well; perhaps the first time he had laughed in years.

"Oh Severus," she said, her eyes bright with tears, but joy now lighting her face. "It is _so_ good to see you again. It has been so hard, all these years, to watch you and suffer with you but never be able to help you."

"You have helped me," Severus said as they slowly rose again to their feet. "If it weren't for you, I think I would be fighting on the wrong side of this war. I was such a fool, Lily, when I was young. If I could go back and change things…"

"Hush," she said softly. "There is no point in worrying about such things. This is no longer the time for worrying about the past. You will come to understand that, with time. While we might still be concerned for the people who are living, our role in that world is diminished and as time goes on, it will become less important to you."

As she spoke, another figure began to appear in the mist and, as it became clearer, Severus stiffened and fought the instinct to reach for a wand.

"Lily?" James Potter said, stopping several feet away from them. "We need to go. Harry needs us."

"Alright," Lily said, smiling at her husband, and Severus fought down the surge of jealousy at the obvious love between the two. She turned back to Severus. "I need to go for a while. But I will be back. I promise." She pressed a kiss to his cheek and as she turned to go, Severus glanced nervously at James again. James, however, seemed unconcerned and even gave a small smile.

"You will find Severus," James began, "that in time the events that seemed so important in life become less so. It will take some time, but it will happen."

He then turned, took his wife's hand, and disappeared into the mist. Severus stared at the spot where they had disappeared for a moment until he once again heard footsteps behind him. He turned and saw Albus approaching him once again.

"What's going on?" Severus asked. "They said Harry needed them."

"Nothing for you to concern yourself about, Severus," Albus replied. "But you will be pleased to know that Harry did indeed view your memories and is now on his was to face Tom."

Severus felt a strange surge of emotion, both relief and a pang of heartache. It would be over soon and, he supposed, the Potter family would once again be reunited. Albus smiled at him as if he knew what Severus was thinking.

"As I said, Severus, do not trouble yourself. The time for those concerns is over. Now go. I, too, will be needed by Harry shortly, but then we will all join you. You have many great adventures awaiting you, my friend."

Severus walked slowly off the playground and, as he too disappeared into the mist, he turned back to Albus and smiled.

* * *

_I don't imagine anyone who is a fan of Snape could leave his death alone without trying to bring some sort of closure. This was my attempt. From what I could gather in the chapter King's Cross, it seems that Harry was in some sort of limbo. I am assuming that everyone who dies has a similar type experience, with the setting changing depending on what was important to the person who died. To Harry, King's Cross always symbolized the return to the wizarding world and freedom from the Dursley's. I imagine that for Snape, the time he spent with Lily at the playground were some of the happiest times of his life. _


End file.
